Devin Harris opinions?

[Mail_Man123]

I see a lot of talk about trading Harris and/or drafting a PG with the #3 (Knight). However, I think this is the wrong move. Why would you trade/replace Harris? Realistically the top 5 PGs for the next few years are locked up:

(in no order)
DWill
Paul
Rose
Westbrook
Rondo

Not to mention Nash or Wall

My point is Harris can be, and is arguably already, a top ten PG. It has also been said tons of times that this years draft is pretty weak as far as "franchise" players are concerned. Most likely Knight,Walker,Irving highest ceiling is going to be in the 5-10 range. Also I know we are rebuilding, but Harris is only 28. And how successful can a team be with a bunch of <25 year olds? (It's not like we have Durant and Westbrook, and no one in this draft is projected to be as good). I know Harris struggled in his first (half) year but cut him some slack and let him learn the offense.


I think the Jazz should take the BPA at #3, which is most likely going to be Kanter. This will allow us to trade Memo and his $9 mil. Then if we let AK go, we'll have the money to go get a 2 or 3 (depends where you play Gordon) that we need.

-Potential FA's 2011
Afflalo
J. Crawford
JR Smith

Then to help replace AK's defense, at #12 take Chris Singleton, where he is on the RealGM's latest mock
http://basketball.realgm.com/article/21 ... Version_40

Or if he is gone, then draft a PG (earl watson.... no thanks). I can see Kemba falling. Or even Fredette who's shooting will allow him to play alongside Harris.

Ideally, IMO
PG: Harris/Walker or Fredette/Watson
SG: Afflalo or Crawford or JR Smith / Hayward/ Miles / Fredette
SF: Hayward/Miles
PF: Millsap/Favors
C: Jefferson/Kanter

or

PG: Harris/Watson
SG: Afflalo or Crawford or JR Smith / Hayward / Miles / Fredette
SF: Hayward/Singleton /Miles
PF: Millsap/Favors
C: Jefferson/Kanter

I know Miles isnt the biggest fan favorite, but he's still only 24. Let him develop and get his head on straight and he could surprise you. Not mention he would provide scoring off the bench

Also with that core 4 as our big men, we'll always have a potent low post presence on the court

I know this was alot but my point is the Jazz should not reach for a PG at 3, instead look to take one at 12 instead

[HolyToledo]

After Harris came over to Utah, Watson >>>>>>Harris. Maybe Harris had not adjusted to the Jazz system yet or maybe he simply sucks. Thats the issue on the table that the Jazz management has to decide when they pick 3rd. My biggest problem with Harris is that he has tunnel vision unable to make other players better. Harris' best position is like a Jason Terry (3rd guard) that plays both guard positions, but Harris makes too much money to be a 3rd guard.

I would trade him away. The Blazers want a new PG and maybe a combination of the rights to Oden plus another player (maybe Andre Miller) would be in both teams interest. A change of scenary may do Oden some good if he can stay healthy.

[hoops4life]

Afflalo will resign with Denver and most people don't want JR (not to mention he wouldn't want to come here).

[Mail_Man123]

I agree Harris is not the ideal pass first PG the Jazz are used to, but he was a little banged up and had to play a new offense mid season. Even Dwill struggled early going to the Nets. Why not wait and see what Harris can do, and if it doesnt work out, and if keep the GSW pick we can still draft a PG in 2012.

Perhaps in an ideal world we can take Kanter at 3, then take Kemba at 12 OR if Knight falls past TOR at 5 we can try and trade up with the #12 and the GSW pick. Win - Win

[woodstock17]

I agree Harris is not the ideal pass first PG the Jazz are used to, but he was a little banged up and had to play a new offense mid season. Even Dwill struggled early going to the Nets. Why not wait and see what Harris can do, and if it doesnt work out, and if keep the GSW pick we can still draft a PG in 2012.

Perhaps in an ideal world we can take Kanter at 3, then take Kemba at 12 OR if Knight falls past TOR at 5 we can try and trade up with the #12 and the GSW pick. Win - Win

D will was injured that is why he struggled. But through his struggling he still averaged 10 assist.

Harris CAN be a top 10 PG but do you think he has been for the last couple of years? I like Harris but I dont think that he will ever get back to his All star self. What we got at the end of the year is probably what we will get for the next few years. Yeah he was in a new situation with a new system but if he keeps getting these little injuries then he will never be able to get back to where he once was.

[Mail_Man123]

Last year Harris averaged 15.2 pts/game and 7.1 assists/game. That ranks him 7th in ppg for PGs and 10th in assist.

So yes i do think he is a top 10 PG. Not to mention last year was his career high in assists per game. To be fair, he had averaged 7.6 in NJ before the trade and only 5.4 in UTA. However in his defense, it was a small sample of only 17 games

[Mail_Man123]

Although I'll admit he is borderline top ten , along with Billups, Parker and Wall. But unquestioned I think he is top 15.

I look at it like this, in terms of tiers

Tier 1:
Paul
Deron
Rose
Rondo

Tier 2:
Westbrook
Nash

Tier 3:
Parker
HARRIS
Billups
Curry
Wall

Wall will probably elevate to Tier 2, but I dont see any PG in this draft becoming any better then where Harris is at Tier 3.

[reapaman]

Look Harris is not gonna turn into a new pg all of a sudden, we know what he can do. He had one season out of the ordinary where he was an allstar (which was a fluke if you ask me because he didn't really improve any of his skills much from the year before) but the rest where pretty much the same, which were an average pg. He's small chucker whos not a very good shooter, high turnovers, he not a good distributor although he can create oppurtunites by penetrating the defense, and he's a acceptable defender but nothing great. He's 28, he's not gonna improve on those weaknesses.

Not to mention I don't know how well he's gonna hold up in the future. he's injury prone but he not exactly the picture of health. He's no Andre Miller. It time to see if we can get a young pg with some upside. It will be much better for us in the long run since we aren't contending anytime soon.

[idajazz]

I agree with Mail_Man123 I just do not see the value at 3 going with Knight or Walker.
Harris deserves a chance to prove what he can do, I don't believe that he ever got that opportunity, due to the timing of the trade, the new coach, and injuries.
In my opinion if Kanter and Knight grade out about the same I would rather go big. Or trade out of the 3 for future assets.
If the Jazz brain trust believe that either of those guys are worthy of the third pick, great, I will trust that they know more than we do.

The 12 is where I believe the Jazz have a chance to pick up a player could make a real difference.
I really Like Singleton, I think we could really use a defensive stopper.
I would like to see AK back at a reasonable deal as well.

[It_Was_Typed]

Unlikely, but is there ANYTHING that Lakers can tempt the Jazz with to get Harris?

[jazzfan1971]

Unlikely unless a 3rd team is involved.


On Harris, I wasn't that impressed with him on the Jazz. That being said, I've never liked him much, so maybe I just choose to see the negative. The only thing that impressed me about him all season was his speed moving without the ball.

I like to see the Jazz utilize his speed without the ball more. I think he could be a very effective SG on offense in our system running off screens and moving into a triple threat position by virtue of the offense in the half court set. In transition offense you'd want him with the ball.

I'd like to see guys like Burks, Hayward, or AK as teh primary ball handler in the half court set. I hope Ty sees an opportunity for these 3 to take over a Point role on the team.

[It_Was_Typed]

Thanks, that's what I figured.

I'm not the biggest Harris fan either, but he could help the Lakers given his speed and scoring abilities.

One more question...Will the Jazz try and compete (or expected to) for a playoff seed this upcoming season or is it a season to build towards the future?

[StocktonShorts]

Thanks, that's what I figured.

I'm not the biggest Harris fan either, but he could help the Lakers given his speed and scoring abilities.

One more question...Will the Jazz try and compete (or expected to) for a playoff seed this upcoming season or is it a season to build towards the future?

I think they'll try to make the playoffs. I think Corbin and management don't want to risk creating a culture of losing.

[jazzfan1971]

One more question...Will the Jazz try and compete (or expected to) for a playoff seed this upcoming season or is it a season to build towards the future?

Ty has his career riding on this season. He's not going to tank. But, do we have the talent to be a playoff team?

PG - Harris, ?

I don't love Harris, but, I expect his stats to return to career averages this year. He'll be an above average PG. If we can resign Watson, we'll have a very competent and experienced PG position.

SG and SF - These positions are fairly interchangeable for the Jazz. What we need is 3 or 4 quality players here. What we have is Hayward, Miles, Burks, and Bell. Of the 4 only Hayward seems to fit the bill. So, we're seriously deficient at the swing positions.

Miles may or may not be here. I suspect he will. He's a below average starter. Maybe a quality reserve. Maybe not even that. Lets be generous and say he's a quality reserve.

Burks is a very nice prospect IMHO. If he can come in and start at SG teh Jazz will be VASTLY improved. I'm not expecting that though, I think he'll need a couple years to really come into his own.

Bell was beyond terrible for the Jazz. Maybe he'll have a bounce back year and give us something not too far off his career numbers, but, I think he's just a wasted roster slot.

AK may be resigned, hard to say. I believe he will as he's an asset that could be used in the future. However, I've seen the Jazz cast aside many assets before: Matthews, Stevenson, Mo Williams, Kris Humphries, etc... I don't think the Jazz MO has been to collect assets for the sake of stockpiling assets in the past. Perhaps now that Larry and Sloan are gone we'll be more willing to sign guys just because they have value, perhaps not. My hunch is that we'll resign AK with the idea that we may move Millsap or Jefferson at some point and then he could backup the 4 restoring our big man depth. If he's resigned he's an above average starter and way above average bench player WHEN HEALTHY. Problem is, he's only healthy about a third of a season.

Evans and Millsap are possible help at SF. However, I think neither guy is likely to be very effective in that role.

Jazz will have the MLE to use. If we're looking to win now adding a guy like Battier makes a ton of sense. He would be a great locker room leader for the team as well as jump right into the starting SF slot.

Jazz may also look for a trade. With all teh bigs the Jazz have, it's not an unlikely proposition.

Jazz also have the GS pick next year. They may just decide to sit on their hands and try to add a wing player with that next season.

PF - Favors and Millsap. I think Favors will come out with a strong season. I'm thinking 13-9-2 if he gets to start. Millsap is better suited to a reserve role and I expect he'll either be traded or moved to a 6th man role. PF is a strength for the Jazz.

C - Jefferson, Kanter, and Okur. Jefferson is the best center we've had since Eaton. By far the best offensively. I doubt we'll move him. I doubt Kanter can move him out of the starting spot, at least not this year. Okur is a question mark, I think his best value to the Jazz at this time would be as an expiring contract in a trade. Jefferson and Kanter should give the Jazz the most explosive offensive center position in the league. Defense should be average. Center is a strength for the Jazz.

PG - 7
SG - 6
SF - 3
PF - 9
C - 9

That's how I see it. We address the weaknesses at SG and SF then I would say the Jazz are a lock to make the playoffs. If we do nothing more than sit on our hands I still think we challenge for a 7 or 8 spot. If Burks is a quality starter things change quickly, but, I find that unlikely. If we resign AK and he's healthy all year (yeah right!) things change quickly. If Evans magically becomes a top flight SF or Millsap drops 20lbs and starts moving like a deer, things change dramatically.

But right now I think we are a 40-44 win team. We could easily be a 50-55 win team if we somehow turned SG and SF positions into positions of strength.

[Jazz_Man_86]

Great post man, great post.

[Litany]

I think we need to give Harris a chance. I think most were to quick to write him off, but I think he could be great for us once he learns the Jazz system better (whatever system that may be under Corbin) and has time with the teammates.

[Jazz_Man_86]

yeah a Harris has to play full season.

I think he can easily may have 16 + 8

[The59Sound]

I think we need to give Harris a chance. I think most were to quick to write him off, but I think he could be great for us once he learns the Jazz system better (whatever system that may be under Corbin) and has time with the teammates.

I agree. I'm a Devin Harris fan. I think he's intelligent, a quality locker room guy, and a more than competent point guard.

A lot of people complained that he attacked too much instead of playing within the system. I actually thought our offensive movement was better after the trade. The difference, to me, is that Harris didn't dominate the ball. Deron is an amazing passer (clearly better than Harris), but I thought he had a tendency [this year especially] to pound the ball, instead of swinging it around.

[Jampod]

Harris came around at the right time considering the departure of Sloan. If we're really looking to change things up offensively, Ty should really utilize Harris.